The Fallen Ashes
by Evergreen215
Summary: My version of Book 3 in The Hunger Games Series, or at least my opinion of how it should happen. It chronicles the events after the Third Quarter Quell, or Seventy-Fifth Games, from Katniss's point of view. I hope you enjoy it, please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

The Falling Ashes

Book Three of The Hunger Games (fanfiction)

Disclaimer: I am not Suzanne Collins. I do not own the Hunger Games or any rights to it and I do not claim to. (Hope that's an okay disclaimer thingy)

Okay, so… welcome to my version of The Hunger Games, Book Three. Hope you enjoy it.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1:

I am woken up by screaming, and for a second I think it is me. Then I realize that it's coming from the next room over. I sit up straight in my bed, now awake, accidentally smashing my head into the low ceiling. My eyes water and I grit my teeth.

The screaming continues, and after a moment I can hear whom it is coming from. Finnick. Finnick Odair.

He was one of my fellow tributes in the Third Quarter Quell, one of the victors. We teamed up, I thought to stay alive, but it turned out that I was wrong.

My tired mind conjures up a short song from memory, and I remember it as Rue's mockingjay melody. In the Seventy-Fourth Games, we used it as a signal to each other. It fits.

The mockingjay. They were a crossbreed between a regular mockingbird and a jabberjay, a muttation created by the Capitol during the rebellion as a war weapon. They were able to mimic human voices and had a remarkable ability for remembering conversations. But they turned out not to be any use, and the Capitol tried to get rid of them. Instead they mated with mockingbirds and created the mockingjay, an animal which was never supposed to exist. It became a symbol of the second rebellion against the Capitol, the first being the one in which District Thirteen was supposedly destroyed and the Hunger Games were formed because of.

District Thirteen. I had been lied to. District Thirteen was not completely obliterated as had been previously thought. Apparently, as I had been told, it was still a thriving city.

My train of thought is broken as I realize that the screaming has stopped. Instead a faint, barely perceptible sobbing is coming from Finnick's room. I try not to listen to it.

Unable to get back to sleep, I climb down the ladder that leads up to my small bunk and onto the floor of my room. It is dark and I am unable to see what I am doing, so I navigate by touch.

The metal ladder is cold, but the floor is carpeted so I am glad when I reach ground… if it can be called that. I am actually thousands of feet above the ground, in a large hovercraft. District Thirteen's.

There is a knock on my door. "Katniss?"

Haymitch. His voice is slurred and I think he is drunk. When I ignore him, instead crossing to the small refrigerator and searching for something to drink, he keeps knocking in an irregular fashion. "Katniss? Katniss?"

Something hard slams against the door and the knocking stops. There is a low gurgle. Haymitch must have passed out and fell into the door. I am not surprised. Ever since the Quell, he has been more drunken and irritable than usual. I don't know where he finds the liquor, but he has more of it than ever.

I finally decide on a can of some fancy fountain drink. It is metal and has a green covering, with the name of the company that made it emblazoned on the side. I ignore this, pop the top, and drink.

It has a strong lemon-lime flavor, one that apparently is popular among the people of District Thirteen. It makes me gag and spit it out onto the ground. There is a tingly aftertaste in my mouth, which is slightly fetching.

Fortifying myself, I take another sip. This time I can enjoy it. It is bubbly and feels a bit like it is burning my tongue, and it has a sour but sweet taste. I like it a lot and drain the entire can in a few large gulps.

I take a contended sigh, fully awake now. There is a small light coming from the fridge, but nowhere near enough to provide any real illumination. Instead I switch on the lights.

My room is small and a bit claustrophobic. The ceiling is low, only about a foot higher than me. Gale admits, when he comes in, that he worries he'll hit his head. The four walls, which are close together, are made of metal. There are no windows. I sleep on a small bunk uncomfortably close to the ceiling, which I have to climb a small ladder to reach. There is also a refrigerator, a closet, and a small chute through which I throw the clothes I have already worn. They come back later that day, washed, dried, and folded.

There is a groan from outside my door, and with a sigh I go and open it. There is a thunk as Haymitch's head, which before the door had been supporting, falls to the floor. Haymitch himself is lying on the floor, an empty bottle of whiskey in his hand. His clothes stink with his own puke.

The small carpet just outside my room (I don't really understand the need for it) has been messed up. With a hiss of disgust, I shove Haymitch's body to the side, off of it, and put it back into its place.

"Can't stand a bit of a mess, can ya, sweetheart?" comes Haymitch's drawling voice. I must have woken him up. Damn. "Just relax. They fix it all up in this fancy…" he gives a grunt and some spit dribbles out of the side of his mouth, "Place." He finishes lamely.

"Go back to your room, Haymitch."

"Now," Haymitch replies, and then burps. "Now, I don't see, sweetheart, that you have the ability to boss me around so," he is interrupted by his own hiccup, "So… rudely. Now, you know who would have helped me? Peeta. He's a good boy." Without further ado, he vomits onto the floor. The sickening smell rises up towards me, but I don't realize.

Peeta… I have been trying not to think about him, not to think about where he is, whether he's alive or whether President Snow has had him killed, to keep him tucked away in the back of my mind. But Haymitch's drunken rambling has pushed it to the front, and it is impossible to ignore.

I quickly walk into my room and lock the door behind me, leaving Haymitch vomiting on the floor of the hall. 

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It's not a very long chapter, and it only took about twenty minutes to write. I didn't do too much editing on it, but with any luck it's okay… Please review with your opinions, I am a sad, paranoid, worried person who needs kindness and criticism. A little hate I don't mind either, as long as it's justified.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Peeta Mellark. He was my partner and fellow competitor in the previous two Hunger Games, the Seventy-Fourth and Seventy-Fifth. We were lucky enough to both survive the Seventy-Fourth, thanks to an abrupt rule change by the Capitol. That, and the berries. I beat them then.

And so as revenge they brought us back for the Seventy-Fifth Games. This time, only one of us could live. Maybe neither of us would. I was prepared to sacrifice myself for him, though I'm not entirely sure why. When I think back on it now, my reasoning was sketchy and vague.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't make the same decision in a second… only, if I got to do it over, I would do it better. The Games had never finished. Many of us there, the tributes- the _victors- _had fought back. We tried to beat the Capitol, to break out of the Games, to join the rebellion.

I only recently learned this. In the beginning, I wasn't privy to the knowledge.

The Capitol was ready for us. District Thirteen, the leaders of the uprising, managed to save me, Finnick, and Beetee. The Capitol captured the rest: Peeta, Johanna, and the others, the ones who hadn't been working against the Capitol with us.

I am now in a hovercraft heading to District Thirteen, the one that isn't supposed to exist. I don't know very much about it, but I have been told that it has been rebuilt and is now a huge city with thousands of inhabitants, larger than any other district. They have a peace agreement with the Capitol. Both are strong, and a war would inflict massive damage on both sides.

I guess truces like that don't really matter to District Thirteen.

We are going to join the rebellion, and fight to overthrow the Capitol. I don't really have any hope that I can rescue Peeta. Even if he isn't already dead, he will be soon. There is no hope for him anymore.

Feeling hopeless and strangely guilty, I try to go back to sleep. But my dreams are haunting and dark. I see Haymitch hovering above me, hung on a gallows. Vomit covers his shirt, and his eyes are glazed. I try to get him down so he can help me open my fridge, but then his skin starts peeling off and instead of him there it is President Snow, blood dripping slowly out of his mouth.

He offers me a can of soda, but I don't want to take it. He says that if I don't he'll kill Peeta, but I don't want to drink to soda because it will burn me from the inside out, and I tell him this. And then he changes, over and over again, so that instead of him hanging by the neck, it is first Prim, and then Rue, and then Gale, and then Peeta, over and over again. Their screams fill my ears, and I fall onto the ground writhing and screaming.

I am woken up by a hard, painful impact. I open up my eyes but cannot see anything; it is too dark. My hands feel along the ground, and I realize that it is hard, cold floor. I must have fallen off of my bed.

I turn on a light, change into some clothes, and leave my room. I have tried sleeping twice, neither time with good results. Haymitch is no longer in the hallway, and I wonder if he managed to drag himself away or if someone else helped him.

I go through a maze of bland, white hallways with doors on every side. The first time I tried this, I got hopelessly lost. Now I am able to navigate the bottom floor and find a flight of stairs. I climb up them two floors, the hovercraft floor rocking ever so gently beneath me.

I emerge into the cafeteria. It is the first room I have seen with windows, and I notice that it is still dark outside. I hadn't bothered to check the time earlier, and now I look at one of the digital clocks that rest on each circular table.

There is still at least an hour before breakfast. I sit down at a table near a large window and wait, looking out at the endless starscape, stretching out to infinity. I can feel the speed at which I am traveling, but the stars barely seem to move. They are strong and infallible.

I am not.

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Thanks for the reviews, everyone. This chapter isn't that long either. It's strange, I'm having trouble writing long chapters right now. I just can't do it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

A little while before people start arriving for the scheduled breakfast, I go back to my room to turn off the lights, and lock the door. By the time I've returned, there are a few people there, waiting to be served. The food this morning is a dish I have yet to try, some chicken and sausage glued to the inside of a biscuit roll by gooey melted cheese. I can smell it cooking, and my mouth waters.

I take a seat at an empty table, because no one else I know has come up yet. I don't even have to wait a minute before there is the familiar thumping of many feet traveling towards me, and the doors burst open. People flood in, at least a hundred to fill every seat, almost all of the population on the large hovercraft. My eyes search the crowd for a familiar face.

Plutarch Heavensbee is towards the back of the crowd, but as he stalks forward slower people shift out of his way. He appears stressed; his hair wild and his clothes ruffled. I decide to stay away from him for now.

My mom and Prim are walking together. Prim is slightly hunched over, and her hair hangs down over her face. My mother leads her on by the shoulders to an empty table and then goes up to the food line.

Haymitch isn't here; I expect he's in his room with a horrible hangover.

And there's Gale. He seems calm and collected, unlike most of the people here. His dark eyes scan the room, to finally land on me. I quickly look down towards the table, but I can still feel his gaze. When I look up, he is standing at the end of the line. I wait until several people have come to wait behind him before I go up.

I am behind one of the few people from the Capitol who have joined the rebel forces. They turn, a look of disdain on their face, obviously thinking that whoever just entered their "personal space" is below them and needs to leave.

Think again, lady.

She stares at me with a look of slack-jawed awe on her face. I narrow my eyes at her and grit my teeth, hoping she'll just move on, but she doesn't seem to get the hint.

"Katniss Everdeen!" she squeals in a high, sickeningly girlish voice. "Oh gosh, it's so nice to meet you at last!"

I can sense people starting to stare. "Yeah," I mutter, "Nice to meet you too."

"Yes, isn't it? My name is Goldstem Paravatti!"

_I never asked you your name, _I think. Out loud I say, "That's very nice. Now, if you don't mind, the line's moved up…" I gesture vaguely with my hand.

"Oh, of course! Here, let's go up!" Goldstem grabs me by the hand and yanks me forward. She is surprisingly strong for such a thin person. I try to pull out of her grip, but she continues holding me tightly. "So, how are you feeling? You must be devastated about Peeta-"

That's the last straw. I furiously shove her forward, and she slams into the person in front of her. The two topple onto the hard metal ground. I can feel myself shaking. All around me, people are watching the scene quietly.

By now we are at the front of the line. Goldstem sheepishly gets up, grabs her tray of food and utensils, and runs off. As I collect mine, I hear muttering behind me. "Perfectly justified", "She was provoked", "That was a touchy subject". I try to ignore it.

I go to sit with my mother and Prim. When I get there, both of their plates are almost untouched.

"Hey," I say. "Are you okay?" I sit down.

My mom looks at me, and I see that she has been crying. The tear tracks run out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

"She won't eat," she tells me hoarsely. "I can't get her to eat."

I look at Prim, who is lying with her head on the table, hiding her face beneath her arms and hair.

"Prim," I say quietly. "Prim?"

There is no answer. I lean over the table and tickle the top of her head. At first there is no reply, but then I hear a small giggle.

"Prim," I say, but I am interrupted.

"What was that scene I just witnessed?" I look up to see Plutarch Heavensbee standing menacingly over me. He has a commanding presence when he wants to. "Why did you assault that woman?"

"I was provoked," I hiss. "And now I need you to leave, or I'll be provoked to do it to you." My mother gasps, but Plutarch just leans in closer to me, his eyes thin and glaring.

"I'm sure you are exaggerating. What could she do that would provoke a public physical attack?"

"Something just like this," I say. "Back off. You can't hurt me."

Plutarch replies, "Just be more careful from now on not to offend anyone."

I don't answer. He leaves.

I hear Prim softly crying. "Prim," I say again, "Please eat something. You must be hungry."

Prim's head shakes violently. "Please," I beg, "Prim, just eat some food. I know you're sad, but you need to eat _something._ What do you want to do, starve?"

"No," comes a weak voice.

"So eat some food then. Okay?"

"Okay." Prim shifts position slightly so that her head is not lying down on the table, but I still cannot see her face. She grabs the breakfast sandwich and takes a tentative bite off of the side. And then, encouraged by the taste, she eats it voraciously, almost stuffing the whole thing into her mouth at once.

"Mmm," she says. "That was good." Finally she sits up and brushes her hair out of her eyes, but she still seems depressed. "Thank you, Katniss."

"You're welcome," I say sadly.

"I want to go to sleep," Prim whines. "I'm not feeling well." She slowly gets up and walks away. My mom glances at her, looks apologetically at me, and rushes after her out of the cafeteria. I am left alone at my table.

I try to eat my meal, but my appetite is gone. I can't finish the whole thing. Finally, restless, I stand up quickly, pushing my food away, and walk away from the bustle of breakfast and an empty table with three unfinished bowls of food.

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What do you think? Is this chapter any good? Would you be as annoyed at Goldstem as Katniss was? All important questions. Answer any and all of them in any reviews you leave! (Yes, this is a form of begging.)


	4. Chapter 4

The Fallen Ashes, Chapter 4

I'm really sorry for how long it took to update. My computer keeps having problems, so I haven't had a chance. I hope you like the next chapter._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

District 12 was completely destroyed by the Capitol. Gale led them to join the rebellion, and the Capitol tried to get rid of them. A lot of people died, but Gale and my family made it out. It's little comfort, though, because that small bit of happiness is overshadowed by my grief for all the other peoples' suffering.

Who didn't make it? Peeta's family, for the first thing. Most of the other kids in my school. Greasy Sae. The mayor. And, as we recently learned, Prim's three closest friends and her _boyfriend_. Apparently she had started dating. She had grown incredibly sad and depressed, her personality so different from when she had been happy and carefree.

It was horrible what the Capitol had done to all of us. My life would never be the same. I would never be able to get back to normal. Me and Gale would never have the same relationship we used to. Prim might never get back to normal. My friends and neighbors wouldn't come back.

So that was why I had to fight. The Capitol needed to be destroyed. Or else this would continue, and we wouldn't be the only ones who felt like we wanted to die. As I walk down the empty hallway, my anger grows and I make a silent vow that before I die, no matter what else happens, I am personally going to drive a knife through President Snow's empty skull, and watch the blood pour out. I am not going to the grave before I have completed this.

I'll avenge them; my schoolmates, my friends in the Hob, the people all over town I knew and respected, Prim's friends who had caused her so much misery and also Peeta and his family.

My fists shake and I smile as I imagine cutting President Snow's throat. My eyes shut and I immerse myself in the vision of finishing it, once and for all, killing the President and locking him away from the world for eternity.

"Move."

The simple word, coming from Haymitch's mouth, breaks me out of my daydream. He is standing in front of me. "Get back to your room. We're about to land."

"Land?" I ask, the word not seeming to have any meaning.

"Didn't you hear the announcement? We're being chased by Capitol ships. We have to make a landing and shut off the plane so they can't follow our heat signature. It's going to be a bumpy ride, so hold on to your bedpost." He stalks away, grabs his head once because of dizziness, and turns a corner.

This is my chance.

Instead of going back to my bunk, I race towards the staircase. I'm going up instead of down this time. And when I get to a higher floor, I'll find the control room… and I'll blast those Capitol ships out of the sky.

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(Wince) This is really short.... wow....


End file.
